Vintage News · Odd history for November 26

What Happened On November 26

Q: What happened on November 26?

1842: The University of Notre Dame (building pictured) was founded by Edward Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross as an all-male institution in the U.S. state of Indiana. 1778: In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui. 1977: A speaker claiming to represent the "Intergalactic Association" interrupted a broadcast of Southern Television in South East England. 1942: World War II: Josip Broz Tito and the Yugoslav Partisans convened the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia. 2025: The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured. 1998: Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland. 1986: Iran–Contra affair: U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission. 1977: An unidentified hijacker named Vrillon, claiming to be the representative of the "Ashtar Galactic Command", takes over Britain's Southern Television for six minutes, starting at 5:12 pm. 1970: In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 38 millimetres (1.5 in) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded. 1965: France launches Astérix, becoming the third nation to put an object in orbit using its own booster.

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10 odd things that happened on November 26

1842 Oddly true
The University of Notre Dame (building pictured) was founded by Edward Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross as an all-male institution in the U.S. state of Indiana.
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Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1778 First ever
In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1977 Oddly true
A speaker claiming to represent the "Intergalactic Association" interrupted a broadcast of Southern Television in South East England.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1942 First ever
World War II: Josip Broz Tito and the Yugoslav Partisans convened the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2025 Oddly true
The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1998 First ever
Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1986 Oddly true
Iran–Contra affair: U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1977 Oddly true
An unidentified hijacker named Vrillon, claiming to be the representative of the "Ashtar Galactic Command", takes over Britain's Southern Television for six minutes, starting at 5:12 pm.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1970 Oddly true
In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 38 millimetres (1.5 in) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1965 Oddly true
France launches Astérix, becoming the third nation to put an object in orbit using its own booster.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2025The Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, leaves at least 168 dead and 79 injured. Wikipedia →
2021COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization identifies the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Wikipedia →
2019A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes western Albania leaving at least 52 people dead and over 1,000 injured. This was the world's deadliest earthquake of 2019, and the deadliest to strike the country in 99 years. Wikipedia →
2018The robotic probe Insight lands on Elysium Planitia, Mars. Wikipedia →
2011NATO attack in Pakistan: NATO forces in Afghanistan attack a Pakistani check post in a friendly fire incident, killing 24 soldiers and wounding 13 others. Wikipedia →
2011The Mars Science Laboratory launches to Mars with the Curiosity Rover. Wikipedia →
2008Mumbai attacks, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks took place in Mumbai killing 166 citizens by 10 terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan based extremist Islamist terrorist organisation. Wikipedia →
2008The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2, now out of service, docks in Dubai. Wikipedia →
2004Ruzhou School massacre: A man stabs and kills eight people and seriously wounds another four in a school dormitory in Ruzhou, China. Wikipedia →
2004The last Poʻouli (Black-faced honeycreeper) dies of avian malaria in the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda, Hawaii, before it could breed, making the species in all probability extinct. Wikipedia →
2003The Concorde makes its final flight, over Bristol, England. Wikipedia →
2000George W. Bush is certified the winner of Florida's electoral votes by Katherine Harris, going on to win the United States presidential election, despite losing in the national popular vote. Wikipedia →
1999The 7.5 Mw Ambrym earthquake shakes Vanuatu and a destructive tsunami follows. Ten people were killed and forty were injured. Wikipedia →
1998Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland. Wikipedia →
1998The Khanna rail disaster takes 212 lives in Khanna, Ludhiana, India. Wikipedia →
1991National Assembly of Azerbaijan abolishes the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan and renames several cities with Azeri names. Wikipedia →
1986Iran–Contra affair: U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission. Wikipedia →
1986The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of committing war crimes as a guard at the Nazi Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem. Wikipedia →
1983Brink's-Mat robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million are stolen from the Brink's-Mat vault at Heathrow Airport. Wikipedia →
1979Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740 crashes near Taif in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, killing all 156 people on board. Wikipedia →
1977An unidentified hijacker named Vrillon, claiming to be the representative of the "Ashtar Galactic Command", takes over Britain's Southern Television for six minutes, starting at 5:12 pm. Wikipedia →
1970In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 38 millimetres (1.5 in) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded. Wikipedia →
1968Vietnam War: United States Air Force helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire. He is later awarded the Medal of Honor. Wikipedia →
1965France launches Astérix, becoming the third nation to put an object in orbit using its own booster. Wikipedia →
1950Korean War: Communist Chinese troops launch a massive counterattack (Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River and Battle of Chosin Reservoir) against United Nations and South Korean forces. Wikipedia →
1949The Constituent Assembly of India adopts the constitution presented by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: A German V-2 rocket hits a Woolworth's shop in New Cross, London, killing 168 people. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: Germany begins V-1 and V-2 attacks on Antwerp, Belgium. Wikipedia →
1943World War II: HMT Rohna is sunk by the Luftwaffe in an air attack in the Mediterranean north of Béjaïa, Algeria. Wikipedia →
1942World War II: Yugoslav Partisans convene the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia. Wikipedia →
1942Casablanca, the movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, premieres in New York City. Wikipedia →
1942A riot involving infantrymen, military police, and local law enforcement officers occurs in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, leading to three deaths. Wikipedia →
1941World War II: The Hull note is given to the Japanese ambassador, demanding that Japan withdraw from China and French Indochina, in return for which the United States would lift economic sanctions. On the same day, Japan's 1st Air Fleet departs Hitokappu Bay for Hawaii. Wikipedia →
1939Shelling of Mainila: The Soviet Army orchestrates an incident which is used to justify the start of the Winter War with Finland four days later. Wikipedia →
1924The Mongolian People's Republic is officially established after a new constitution, passed by the first State Great Khural, abolishes the monarchy. Wikipedia →
1922Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3,000 years. Wikipedia →
1922The Toll of the Sea debuts as the first general release film to use two-tone Technicolor. (The Gulf Between was the first film to do so, but it was not widely distributed.) Wikipedia →
1920Ukrainian War of Independence: The Red Army launches a surprise attack against the Makhnovshchina. Wikipedia →
1918The Montenegrin Podgorica Assembly votes for a "union of the people", declaring assimilation into the Kingdom of Serbia. Wikipedia →
1917The Manchester Guardian publishes the 1916 secret Sykes-Picot Agreement between the United Kingdom and France. Wikipedia →
1917The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams. Wikipedia →
1914HMS Bulwark is destroyed by a large internal explosion with the loss of 741 men while at anchor near Sheerness. Wikipedia →
1865Battle of Papudo: A Spanish navy schooner is defeated by a Chilean corvette north of Valparaíso, Chile. Wikipedia →
1863United States President Abraham Lincoln proclaims November 26 as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November. Following the Franksgiving controversy from 1939 to 1941, it has been observed on the fourth Thursday in 1942 and subsequent years. Wikipedia →
1852An earthquake as high as magnitude 8.8 rocks the Banda Sea, triggering a tsunami and killing at least 60 in the Dutch East Indies. Wikipedia →
1812The Battle of Berezina begins during Napoleon's retreat from Russia. Wikipedia →
1805Official opening of Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Wikipedia →
1789A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as proclaimed by President George Washington at the request of Congress. Wikipedia →
1778In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui. Wikipedia →
1476Vlad the Impaler defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Báthory and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time. Wikipedia →
1346Having been elected German king at Rhens on 11 July 1346, Charles IV is crowned King of Germany by bishop Walram of Cologne in Bonn. Wikipedia →
1161Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dynasty ships on the Yangtze river during the Jin–Song Wars. Wikipedia →
783The Asturian queen Adosinda is held at a monastery to prevent her nephew from retaking the throne from Mauregatus. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2023The Guardian
‘Soul-shattering’ Prophet Song by Paul Lynch wins 2023 Booker prize
The Irish author’s novel set in an imagined Dublin descending into far-right tyranny wins £50,000 prize
Read on The Guardian →
2016The Guardian
Thunderstorm asthma: 'You're talking an event equivalent to a terrorist attack'
A perfect storm of factors that triggered a mass asthma event and claimed at least six lives in Melbourne has perplex…
Read on The Guardian →
1968The New York Times
Theater: A Reappraisal
THERE are those plays that should be seen once, those plays that should be seen more than once, and, to be frank, tho…
Read on NYTimes.com →

Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.